Monday, April 30, 2012

And Down the Stretch They Come !! ~~ Kimberly Kelly Santini


 
"And Down the Stretch They Come!!," 7" x 14", painting of a racetrack scene inspired by Saratoga, detail (which more accurately reflects the painting's color) below, done in acrylics on museum quality panel, $549 to the first asking nicely. 
 

In process views of this painting are available on the studio Facebook page.

 
Requests may always come to me (and yes I am happy to set up a payment plan and yes I take credit cards and yes return collectors get 10% off all original panel paintings all the time).

 
 
 
 

I am so happy May is here!!  

 
Because it's Derby Week, baby!! All horses!!

 
I spent last night reviewing photos, editing and cropping and trying to figure out what to paint this week. So many choices, not enough days!!

 
I've got 8 compositions but only 5 painting days, so I'll have to work quickly and productively if I want to do them all.

 
I cut to the chase this morning, bypassing most of my morning studio routine to get right to work. All day long I heard the thunder of hooves and the roar of the crowd, over which echoes the famous line "...and down the stretch they come!!"

 
It's going to be a fantastic week!!

 
I hope you enjoy!!
Kim
 



From Amazon, the book "Belmont Park, A Century of Champions," featuring artwork by Richard Stone Reeves.
 
Richard Stone Reeves, My First Equine Artist Mentor
 

I was one of those kids who never stopped drawing horses. And took every opportunity to look at them, whether it was nose plastered to the car window on Sunday drives, scouring the latest Sports Illustrated magazine for photographs of equine athletes, or pouring over every single book in our library that included horse illustrations.

 
When I was a young adult/teenager, over the course of 6 years, I had a Richard Stone Reeves book continuously checked out.

 
In high school I wrote him a letter (I'm dating myself, because this was long before email!) asking his advice on becoming an artist.

 
He told me to never stop drawing. To take every opportunity I had to draw everything I saw - not just horses. And to never stop learning and working to get better at truly seeing the world. That if I couldn't draw well, I could never expect to be a decent painter.

 
I am so grateful for his advice, as it truly shaped my approach to making art. And I am proud to carry it onwards and share with my own students.

 
I wish I'd have had the opportunity to meet Mr Reeves, who passed away in 2005. I satisfy myself with enjoying his artwork in person whenever possible and continuing to thumb through my own copies of his books.

 

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Wind in your hair...


Tonight my husband and I did something we haven't done since we were kids.  Driving home in a desultory kind of way from the grocery store, we passed a school playground baking in the late afternoon sun.  Within 5 minutes we were both climbing onto the swings and heavenbound.  And with the lurching back and forth of the swing, the feeling of breaking the boundaries of the earth and soaring into the oak tree limbs, the stomach dropping moment of weightlessness at the apex of the arc, with each pass of the wind in our hair we felt better, younger, lighter.

This is my first blog post of 2012.  I realize that, and, if any of you were anxiously waiting out there for an update on the studio antics of one Joanna Zeller Quentin and Co, I humbly apologize.  It's not that I/ we haven't been busy - we have!  Four months into 2012, I've traveled to California and Louisiana to see my work hanging in big art exhibitions, seen my art published on the cover of a major six-week long international horse show program, had lunch and rubbed elbows with Olympians, seen some world class horses do incredible things, gave a giant hug to to my favorite author, taken over 2500 reference photos of various animals doing interesting things, had work accepted to a major wildlife art show, actually completed more work in time for the deadline for another major art show and become a member of the International Equine Artist's Association.  Whew!

Anyway, the point of all this is that being on the swings tonight reminded me of the simple, meditative joys of doing what you love, and how important that is to your emotional, physical and mental well being.  Watching twilight bleed through the oak trees in a sky Maxfield Parrish would have envied (and then painted, of course), listening to the soft squeak of the metal chains, feeling the air rush past my face, and just being oddly present and yet a million miles away... it was NIICE.  Better than nice, it was inspiring.

So I came home and spent some time working on a new watercolor.  I've got some vague plan of gouache and oil and gold leaf, so we'll see how that works out.  In the meantime, here are a few "new" images for 2012.  There's much more to come, so please stay tuned!  And, as always, thanks for reading.

PS - the new Jack White CD ROCKS.

(and just a reminder, please respect my copyright.  All work ©Joanna Zeller Quentin 2012.  All Rights Reserved.  www.MoosePantsStudio.com)
"Naples"  oil on canvas

"Flying Purple Plantain Eater" mixed media on board

"A Plea for Wilderness" india ink and scratchboard

"To the Jumper Ring"  pen and ink on bristol

"Chestnut Sketch #1, Alla Prima"  Oil on board

"Power Steering"  Oil and ink on board

"Picture Perfect" Watercolor and gouache on board

"Rhapsody in White" watercolor on paper

ALL WORK ©Joanna Zeller Quentin 2012.  All Rights Reserved.  
www.MoosePantsStudio.com 


Thursday, April 26, 2012

“Sugar baby” Dark Foal Laying down, Watercolor by Debbie Flood

 

Sugar baby Large Web view

Sugar baby is a 15 x 22 inches, watercolor, $1,400.00

Isn’t he the cutest little bundle of joy you’ve ever seen?

I’m playing and toying with the idea of No Backgrounds! Leaving the crisp clean natural white of the paper. I love the look of bright light, that it gives.

With this look, your eyes stay on the foal, and you are able to study his details and colors. For a little something to anchor him to the ground, I’ve included hints of grass sprigs, pebbles and a little cactus plant.

This has been a very popular painting, so I will be having Limited Edition Prints made of him. I’m now accepting pre-orders for a print run of 50. Hand signed and numbered. These prints will be the same size as the original at 15 x 22 inches, with a 1 inch white border on velvet watercolor paper. $100.00 plus shipping. Contact Debbie Flood at debflood@debfloodart.com thank you.

~Debbie Flood

http://www.debfloodart.com

Friday, April 6, 2012

For Melissa ~~ by Kimberly Kelly Santini


"For Melissa," 10" x 14", portrait of Silver, a pony belonging to a special friend, done in acrylics on a museum quality panel. Collection of the artist.
 

In process pics of Silver's portrait are also on the studio Facebook page. Feel free to check in over there and comment on my process or art in general.

 
Reproductions may be ordered here.

 

 
 
 

 
This week the world lost a shining star when my friend Melissa passed away. Melissa was a client turned friend, compassionate, generous of spirit, always read to laugh, with the ability to find extraordinary beauty in the most commonplace objects and situations.

 
I hope Melissa's heaven is full of gray ponies and lots of critters to love on. And I look forward to walking alongside her one day.

 
Cancer so sucks.

 
In honor of Melissa, I will donate 100% of the proceeds from giclee and notecard sales of this painting through June 1st to The American Cancer Society via The Wonder Kids (see below). You can order here. And thank you for allowing me to pay tribute to my friend's memory in this way.

 
Hoping you are spending your weekend with those you love,
Kim
 

 



Journalling student and Wonder Kid team captain Anna D with her puppets made at our last journalling class. The one on the left reads "fight back."

 
The Wonder Kids

 
Here's some amazing kids who refuse to wait until they are grown up to make a difference.

 
Led by the unflappable 3rd grader Anna D, The Wonder Kids had a friend's life touched by cancer, and decided to do something about it.

 
They set a goal of raising $500 for cancer research (they are nearly half way there!). They also will be participating in the Lake Orion leg of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life the first weekend in June.

 
I look forward to the day when we have a cure for cancer, all due to efforts of people like The Wonder Kids.

 
What if the money they raise is what does it?

 
(If you want to support The Wonder Kids, click here - and on their behalf, thank you!)

 
 
 

By Two Lengths

By Two Lengths

By Two Lengths is the first of my two entries for this years juried Inglis Equine Art Prize.

Originally I was going to include a field of race horses but decided the power and majesty of this fellow was all that was needed.

By Two Lengths is drawn on black canson pastel paper.

By Two Lengths

20" x 27"

pastel

$2500.00 framed

Catherin McMillan

Commissions welcome
original artwork for sale

Gift vouchers available
Payment plan offered

Pay pal accepted